Agnelli family’s Exor to buy La Repubblica and La Stampa

John Elkann, scion of the Agnelli industrial dynasty and chairman of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is to acquire Italy’s leading media group after striking a deal with the billionaire De Benedetti family.

Exor, the Agnelli family investment company, agreed late on Monday to buy a 43.7 per cent stake in GEDI for €102.4m from CIR, the holding company of the De Benedetti dynasty, the companies said in a statement.

Once Exor, which already owns 6 per cent of GEDI, has acquired CIR’s 43.7 per cent stake it will launch a public tender offer for the outstanding shares.

CIR will retain a 5 per cent stake in GEDI through an investment in a new corporate entity set up by Exor to control the group.

GEDI owns the left-leaning La Repubblica and centrist La Stampa national daily newspapers, a dozen regional and local titles, national investigative weekly magazine L’Espresso and leading national radio station Radio Deejay.

Via FT